Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

Our Economy (part two of three)

Academic economists

These 'educated idiots' have earned a special place in the devils playground. Academic economists have never, as in ever, accomplished one single productive thing. Instead they remain hidden, safe and sound, behind the impenetrable walls of academia. They proffer all sorts of "studies," — publish or perish is their battle cry — which, in the real world that they really fear and shy from, mean nothing. Nothing at all.

Quoting an article written for Bloomberg by Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, that speaks volumes about the idiocy of economists:

"Consider this passage by Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder: 'The TV manufacturing industry really started here, and at one point employed many workers. But as TV sets became 'just a commodity', their production moved offshore to locations with much lower wages. And nowadays the number of television sets manufactured in the U.S. is zero. A failure? No, a success'."

Now just explain to me how thousands of Americans — thousands of We the People who:

Lost their jobs,

Lost their ability to feed their families,

Possibly ended up on unemployment,

May have ended up on welfare or

May have ended up food stamps, and;

Possibly ended up in prison for committing criminal acts in an effort to feed their families and pay the bills.

Puh-lease, how, by the furthest stretch of human imagination, could that scenario be considered a success? Well Blinder? I really want to know and so do We the People. Hmm, the silence is deafening. Scoundrel.

Furthermore, consider that basically all of the above would end up being, in the final analysis, paid for by We the People.

The truly horrid part is this sort of garbage happens with vile regularity.

'Screw We the People, let's move it to China'. 'Our profit margin will be much high and our stock price will skyrocket'. 'Besides, it's only a bunch of dumb blue collar workers that will lose their jobs — not us white collar management types'.

Regrettably, that is how the majority of dirtbags in the corporate and academic worlds think. Grove is most certainly an exception to the rule.

Here is Andy Grove's response (quoting the article):

"I disagree. Not only did we lose an untold number of jobs, we broke the chain of experience that is so important in technological evolution. As happened with batteries, abandoning today's 'commodity' manufacturing can lock you out of tomorrow's emerging industry."

Here, here Andy. You hit that one right out of the park.

By the way, the good Professor Blinder has never had a real job in his whole frigging life. Academia and politics (President's Council of Economic Advisors). What a douche bag.

Government

Well, we might as well start at or very near the top of this crap heap. B.O.? Nah, we already know he has never had a real job either (remind you of someone else?). Additionally, he lets other morons do the talking for him, such as Biden. So, let us start with him.

Old Joe, the current Vice President, is just a bit better than B.O., pertaining to job experience. Joe, unlike his immediate boss, has had a job. A white collar job, hence, not a real job but I suppose it is better than nothing. Though not by very much. Quoting Wikipedia article:

"In 1969, Biden began practicing law in Wilmington, Delaware, first as a public defender and then with his own firm, Biden and Walsh. Corporate law, however, did not appeal to him and criminal law did not pay well. He supplemented his income by managing properties."

Boy howdy, am I not at all impressed. Think about it people. Between the two top dogs, a pair of bow-wow's to be sure, of our federal government only one has a little bit of job experience. Yet these are the people who are purportedly guiding our country's economic growth. No wonder our economy is in the toilet. Flush twice — it's a long way to Washington, D.C.

However, Old Joe insists he knows what to do to bring our economy roaring back — spend more money. No joke. He actually said that. Quoting CBS News:

"Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money.

" 'And folks look, AARP knows and the people working here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable', Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. 'It's totally unacceptable. And it's completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it. It can't do it financially'."

As the old saying goes 'If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance then baffle 'em with bullshit'. Which is precisely what Joe did. What is absolutely terrifying is that Joe is just a hair's breath away from becoming President. Boy did we screw up royally.

Moving right along to Congress, these scrvey curs, each and everyone of them, need to be taken to the nearest wall, lined up against it and shot. They are at the very least culpable if not 50% responsible for this financial fiasco We the People currently find ourselves in.

Please attend to the not so mere fact that while the two main political parties are the enablers — Congress is the actual 'doer' for the enablers. Our members of Congress do what the party bosses tell them to do via the House and Senate leadership. All that campaign money had to come from somebody's pocket.

Once or back in power it becomes payback time. Consider for a moment what B.O., along with some help from the Treasury Department, did for the United Auto Workers union. B.O. and company shafted GMC while the UAW got a really good deal out of the mix. That is just one small example.

Oh, you want another? Sure, no problem whatsoever. How about "federal funds." That magical two word phrase is ever so popular around election time. Our members of Congress enact bills which subsequently get signed into law throwing heaps of these "federal funds" at businesses. Why? To attempt to swing or rig an election. Their reelection to be specific. It is kind of a bonus for those who have helped members of Congress in the past. It does absolutely no good for the vast majority of We the People. We just get stuck with the bill. And it happens every single election year.

Here's another one — the bailout of the Wall Street fat cats. Over 700 billion of We the People's dollars were given to various big banks, investment banks and so on. Very, very little was plowed back into the local economies. And once again — We the People got stuck with the tab.

Moving right along to taxes. Our tax burden keeps climbing courtesy of government. Yet what do the majority of We the People receive in return for government's insatiable appetite for money and power? Are our:

Roads in good condition?

Bridges safe?

Air travel safe?

I would say — no, no and no.

Certain "special interest" groups come out smelling like a rose. But not the majority of We the People. Again, it is merely political payback. No more and certainly no less. Additionally, it is the small local businesses which, like We the People, are hurt with more crippling taxes. Big corporations have plenty of:

Lastly, most "business taxes" are merely passed on us — We the People. So not only are we hammered on various "personal taxes," we are also hammered into the ground by having to pick up the tab on numerous "business taxes." This happens several times per year courtesy of:

Federal taxes,

State taxes,

County taxes, and;

Municipal taxes.

If you add it all up, over the course of a single year, all those taxes become a whole lot of groceries you and your family are doing without.